Container



. Nov. 13, 1951 l. MASTIN 2,574,927

CONTAINER Filed Dec. 12, 1947 ZTQU 20 J0 I (D G l6 0 ?/VE M052 1 Patented Nov. 13, 1951 UNITED A 'srr NT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to packages or containers adapted for retail sale and more particularly to a carton or container made of paper, cardboard or some other disposable material and has for an important object thereof the combination, with a container of this character, of means to convertthe container into a dispenser suitable for table or household use.

Thus, in the sale of many commodities as, for example, cube sugar, it is customary to pack the sugar snugly within an ordinary oblong container and to remove the sugar from the package and place it in a container, such as a sugar bowl before serving it. In general, this manner of dispensing and serving the packaged product is satisfactory, particularly if the user has an adequate supply of china available. On the other hand there are many situations, such as in camping, trailers, tourist camps, fishing, picnics, country dining, and the like, in which an adequate supply of china will not be available. Accordingly, an object of the present invention resides in the provision of a container or a package of this character which may be readily converted into a serving or dispensing device.

A feature of the invention which contributes to the accomplishment of this object consists in providing a package or carton of the character described, with members which are ordinarily disposed to lie flat against the walls of the container, in which position they do not interfere with the proper packing of a plurality of such packages or cartons within a large shipping container, but which, in use, may be disposed to extend out wardly from the package to serve as handles, thereby converting the package into a dispenser or bowl suitable for table or household use.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from a reading of the following specification in the light of the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of a carton or package blank flattened out to show the folding lines,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the blank of Figure 1 folded into an upright carton or package,

Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken through the lower part of the carton shown in Figure 2, and,

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken through the center of the package shown in Figure 2.

As illustrated in the drawings, Figure 2 shows in perspective a carton or container embodying the present invention and is largely self-explanatory. Turning, however, first to Figure 1, there 2 is shown a blank from which the container of Figure 2 may be formed. The blank comprises a body portion I0, side walls I2 and M, a front wall It, a rear wall l8, and a top 20.

The side walls l2 and M may be provided with marginal gluing portions 22, which are adapted to be bent along the folding lines indicated to form the container shown in Figure 2; similarly the top 20 may be provided with a tongue or marginal portion 24 adapted to form a closure for the top member.

As shown in Figure 2 the container may be oblong in shape and comprises a body portion and a top flap 20. A container of this nature is of conventional design and may be employed in the sale of numerous products or objects such as cube sugar.

In accordance with the present invention the side panel I6 is provided with a plurality of handle members 26 and 28 which may be formed integrally therewith and similarly the side panel I8 is formed with a plurality of handle extensions 30 and 32 which may likewise be formed integrally with the said panel. In operation the handle members are adapted normally to be folded fiat against the side walls l2 and I4 in an inoperative position, but when the container is in use the handle members may be moved into an outwardly extending operative position, to afford support for the container. As shown, members 36 and 38 may be provided to afford interlocking engagement between the cooperating handle members 26 and 30, and 28 and 32. The openings formed in the outer extremities of the handle members permit the finger tips of the user to come in engagement with one another when the carton or container is lifted and thus the members 26 and 30, 28 and 32 afford supporting handles in much the same fashion as the handles on a sugar bowl or other similar dispenser.

Although the invention has been disclosed herein as embodied in an oblong container suitable for use in the sale or dispensing of cube sugar, it will be appreciated that in many aspects it is in no way limited to the particular material being dispensed or to a container of any specific shape, oblong or otherwise.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire to claim as Letters Patent of the United States is:

In a disposable carton of the character described, the combination of a one-piece enclosing body portion and a pair of handle members integrally associated with each of two opposite sides of said body, said members being adapted to 3 lie flat against said side in normally inoperative position and to extend outwardly angularly from said side in operative position, said members being adapted also to abut one another near the extended end, a hole in the abutting portion of each member and a foldable tab attached to one of said members and adapted to extend through the hole in the other of said members thereby to lock the pair of members in abutting operative position.

IRENE MASTIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Potter May 4, 1909 Densen Sept. 18, 1934 Annen Nov.1'7, 1936 Cudemo June 25, 1940 Tobey et al Dec. 14, 1943 Arnold Feb. 26, 1946 

